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Making The Switch: One Coffee Lover’s Experience Changing Coffee Makers

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…AND Coffee Brands Simultaneously

Making the switch from my morning Starbucks Breakfast Blend coffee to Coffee People’s Donut Shop K-Cup for Keurig was much easier than I anticipated.

I remember the day I bought my Keurig B70 single-cup coffee maker at Costco.  I had been thinking about making the switch from my automatic coffee maker to the Keurig for some time, and with the discount Costco had on the machines at the time made it almost impossible to pass up.

I was excited to load the Keurig machine into my cart, but as I approached the checkout counter, I hesitated.  Would I be turning my back on the brand I had been loyal to for over ten years? Did convenience finally win out over quality?  I didn’t know it at the time, but after trying about eight different brands of K-Cups, I eventually found a couple brands that matched the quality of the Breakfast Blend coffee from Starbucks that I had been drinking for years.

It’s hard to change your routine, especially a morning routine that you have been accustomed to for many years.  Waking up in the morning to your favorite cup of coffee is like waking up to an old friend.  The first morning I came downstairs to make my first cup of coffee with my Keurig felt like I was going behind a lover’s back (OK, maybe an exaggeration), but I did feel plenty guilty.

The Keurig machine I bought came with lots of K-Cups to try.  When I tried my first K-Cup cup of coffee, I was hugely disappointed.  I thought I had made a big mistake purchasing this machine.  The coffee was bitter and metallic tasting.  Would Costco take this machine back after it had been used?  After pouring the first cup out and trying another brand of K-Cup, I felt no better.  It was on the third try that I was in heaven.  I found Coffee People’s Donut Shop.  That was it; I was hooked.

Am I happy I purchased the Keurig?  You bet!  I look forward to coming downstairs in the morning to greet my new old friend.  However, I do get a bit nostalgic during the Holidays when Starbucks releases their “only for a limited time” Christmas Blend coffee.  Not to worry though–my local Starbucks is just a short drive from home.

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Ben let us know that the Starbucks Caramel Via is SWEET

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My first thoughts on Starbucks’ new flavored Via coffee (Caramel, in this case) are that it’s sweet.  Really, really sweet.  Sweet like watching a toddler playing in a room full of puppies and kittens.  You don’t even need to add the water and start drinking to experience this; the pre-brewed blend itself assaults your nose with a caramel/sugar aroma as soon as the packet is opened.  I am surprised that there are only 60 calories in a serving, because it sure seems like the entire output of the U.S. sugar industry is distilled into each individual package.

I’m not saying that it isn’t tasty, once you’ve quickly and easily mixed 8 ounces of hot water with the coffee.  I have become so used to the over-roasted taste of Starbucks’ drip coffee that this was a welcome change.  It may also be that I’ve been taking my coffee black for close to a year, and that this is too great of a contrast to not mention it.

That sweet flavor does capture the hint of a caramel macchiato (my previous “regular” drink at Starbucks, before I switched to dry cappuccinos).  As I love all things caramel, it goes without saying that I enjoy the taste.  I dare say that if you’re not a huge fan of coffee, but do like flavored espresso drinks, you’ll probably like the new flavored Via.  It’s certainly easy to make, and for coffee junkies like me it’s perhaps a bit less like the punch in the face that is the regular office coffee/swill and more like drinking the milk left behind from a sugary cereal.  It’s an efficacious caffeine-delivery system.

Furthermore, with Via, you don’t have to worry about making the communal coffee or being ostracized for taking the last cup without replenishing the carafe.  Overall, I recommend it unless you are the kind of person who thinks that a tablespoon of half-and-half and packet of sugar makes coffee too unbearably sweet.

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Coffee Machines are becoming Espresso Machines

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Coffee makers using open filters and your coffee grounds have always been available. Ten years ago, coffee makers that used pucks of prepackaged coffee broke onto the market. There was a couple that stood out and lasted the tests of time. Of course, a few where here and gone. Interesting to us was how few options there really has been.

We started talking about this the other day when at a Crate and Barrel. We noticed that while the coffee makers using pucks and cups of coffee flavors took a while to get started, that isn’t the case with Espresso makers. Home espresso machines have been around for a long time (remember James Bond had one built into his kitchen?) in their current form of adding fresh grounds and managing the pour and steam… plenty of options. The introduction of puck and cup style Espresso machines when from non to many options in what seems like over night.

This picture of one from Nespresso… cool looking, good pressure, lots of ‘instant’ features, a variety of coffee cups flavors and not very inexpensive. It shows a price of just under $350. The ‘artsy’ versions of NESCAFE we posted up a couple days ago where half this price. When shopping, keep an eye our for a few important points: pressure and availability of quality coffee. We went down one path and found that the pressure was good but the coffee options where many and low quality.

Nespresso’s fast, convenient espresso machine combines Thermobloc heating, 19 bars of pressure and automatic pump priming for the purest, subtlest coffee aromas and flavors and richest crema. Slim, retro-modern countertop presence in black; automatic capsule ejection, and removable water tank and drip tray. Use the two pre-sets or program your own cup volume. Integrated Aeroccino frother preps milk for cappuccino or lattes.

It would appear that the puck Coffee makers where sort of test for the Espresso machines. Let’s see if the Espresso machine options continue to grow or the market heads back to the Coffee versions.

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Quality mugs make a difference and can be fun!

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I was setting out to do a post on a set of Bodum Bistro mugs that where given to me for my recent birthday. They are double walled coffee mugs so they act as a insulator to keep drinks warm or cold. For me, I have a tendancy to drink through my drip coffee quickly since I like it warm to hot. When it cools down it is less of a pleasure drink. I’m sure I’m not the only one, but maybe…

If you have not had the pleasure of a glass coffee mug, there is entertainment value beyond the termal features. For drip coffee, there is quite a show as you add a bit of cream and it works it’s way around the cup, mixing with the dark coffee. Like a Lava Lamp, every showing is different. I attempted to get a image of this and kept ending up with a reflection of my camera. I will post up something when I get it right.

For now, here is a image I grabbed from the provider’s site so you can see it is truly a mug.

I was given a pair of the 15 oz version (Bodum Bistro Double-Wall Insulated Glass Café Latte Mug). They insulate well enough to keep the coffee inside warm while the outside of the mug is cool enough to hold without using the handle. A nice side feature I noticed from a site also reviewing the mugs is that you don’t need to use a coaster since the double wall of glass prevents condensation. Not that I ever sit my coffee around the house but that might be important to some folks. Another item is that while these glass mugs do insulate very well, they are glass so they break easier than a thicker mug.

Now, onto a bit of fun I found while looking for the above image. The folks at Beautiful Life have a post of 25 Creative and Original Mugs. Be prepared when you make the jump, this is a nice showing of mugs. Which means they have a sprinkling of ‘tea’ mugs in there too. It’s a fun collection to see, whether it makes you coffee taste any better or not is another matter.

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Cool Coffee Maker That Will Never Be

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There are a lot of really, er… interesting coffee pot designs that we all know will never make it to our local supplier. Every now and then there is a design that is simple and really should get a manufacturer’s attention. Sadly, this one looks and works in concept very well but will get missed by the masses.

There is nothing new here in the science of coffee making. In fact, there are makers on the market that look similar. This ‘gravity defying’ coffee maker by Lina Fischer would look great in the middle of the table when coffee drinkers come together. The Yanko Design site has this posted on their Form Beyond Function Web site. Hmmm…. think someone should tell IKEA about this design?

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